WA's natural gas industry had another reason for celebration when Shenzhen Terminal, the first commissioned in China for liquefied natural gas was opened this morning.
WA's natural gas industry had another reason for celebration when Shenzhen Terminal, the first commissioned in China for liquefied natural gas was opened this morning with Prime Minister John Howard, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and WA Premier Alan Carpenter in attendance.
The terminal will receive LNG from the Pilbara over the next 25 years as part of a deal between WA's North West Shelf Venture and China's Guangdong Dapeng LNG Company Ltd, worth $25billion.
The supply deal, signed in October 2002, sees the project supplying more than 3.3 million tonnes of LNG a year for 25 years.
A press release issued by the Premier's office is pasted below.
Premier Alan Carpenter celebrated a milestone for Western Australia's resources industry today with the official opening of the Shenzhen terminal in China.
The terminal will receive liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Pilbara over the next 25 years as part of a deal between WA's North West Shelf Venture and China's Guangdong Dapeng LNG Company Ltd, worth $25billion.
"WA is proud to be associated with this historic occasion," Mr Carpenter said.
"We value our broad and growing relationship with China and are honoured to have been awarded China's first LNG contract with Australia.
"China has a growing demand for reliable sources of energy and WA has substantial reserves of natural gas.
"I am confident this new energy partnership will be a great success, both for China and WA.
"I would like to see today as just the beginning of a much bigger energy partnership, with WA supplying a lot more LNG to China.
"Today's event is the culmination of years of hard work and co-operation and I congratulate the North West Shelf Joint Venture partners, China, the Australian Government and also the roles played by former WA Premiers Richard Court and Geoff Gallop."
The first shipment of LNG under the contract with China's Guangdong Dapeng LNG Company Ltd left Karratha on May 18 and arrived in China on May 25.
More than 3.3million tonnes of LNG will be shipped to China each year from the North West Shelf under the contract.
The Premier said the new Shenzhen terminal would assist the development of China's LNG industry.
"When I visited the Shenzhen terminal while it was still under construction, nearly a year ago, I was impressed with the scale of the operation," Mr Carpenter said.
"After seeing the project operational today, I congratulate everyone involved in building and developing this great project."
The Premier is in China as part of a two-week overseas mission to China, Japan and Korea - Australia's three largest export partners.
